Birthday Party and Oliver Comes Home!!!

Grace, Oliver, and Audrey in their birthday hats!

Last weekend was a big weekend for the babies! Oliver had surgery on his inguinal hernia on the 14th, was circumcised and got to come home on the 15th, and the babies hit 40 weeks gestation (full term) on August 14th (my original due date)! The nurses knew it was the babies' intended "birth-day" and so while Oliver was recovering from surgery in his own room, they secretly got the girls ready for a party with cake, hats, and all! It was quite a surprise, and a lot of fun:)

Oliver at home doing what he does best!

Dad carrying his little boy around in our Moby wrap.

Oliver snoozin' in the Moby

Oliver in his cradle at home (in our room)

Oliver suckin' on his bink

Hanging out in the boppy on our bed.

Oliver cuddling with Audrey in her crib at the NICU -

he doesn't have a bed there anymore, so I threw him in with his sister and they loved it!

Buddies

Robert and I absolutely love having our little man at home! We're exhausted, but enjoying every minute. However, it has made our trips back and forth to the NICU even harder, not just from being so tired, but from wanting the girls home, and from just feeling really "done" with that place. As of yesterday, the babies have been in the NICU for 100 days... we were admitted to the hospital on April 10th, and it's now almost September. We are so tired of being there and just want to be home spending time with all three of our babies and establishing some sort of normal routine.

We are optimistic that the girls will be home within another week... Grace has been taking most of her feeds by mouth and Audrey is improving too. Grace is now 7lbs and Audrey is almost 10!!! All of a sudden our tiny little babies aren't so tiny anymore!

But amidst all of the progress and health, we are continually reminded by the neonatologists of our babies ongoing fragility and risks. About 80% of "micro-preemies" (born before 28 weeks gestation) end up being re-admitted to the hospital within their first year of life. Common colds and bacteria that barely phase most babies can wipe out preemies and cause them major problems including having to be put back on breathing machines. Even though our babies look so big and healthy now, their immune systems, lungs, and blood chemistry is just different than babies born at full-term. So, as much as we would like to take our babies out and share them with everyone, we must continue to be super cautious with them and continue the NICU hygiene and hand-washing in our home. Please continue to pray that our babies will stay healthy and infection-free!